South African Airways rescue plan ready bar the funding, say administrators

"We are currently attending to and finalising the remaining outstanding administrative issues before filing a notice of substantial implementation," the administrators said in a statement.

A rescue plan for South African Airways (SAA) is ready and can be implemented once funding for the restructuring is found, the state-owned airline's administrators said on Tuesday. The administrators took over SAA in December after almost a decade of financial losses and published their restructuring plan for SAA last month, after repeated delays and fierce wrangling over the airline's future.

Their plan envisages scaling back the airline's fleet and shedding jobs, but it needs at least 10 billion rand ($604.81 million) of new funds to work, and the government has not yet said where it will find the money. "We are currently attending to and finalising the remaining outstanding administrative issues before filing a notice of substantial implementation," the administrators said in a statement. ($1 = 16.5341 rand)